Respect

Assuming the kid has a bad attitude and this is why the coach doesn't respect him then I will say yes.

If someone has an open mind and allows themself to see people change I believe you can change comeone's mind and get their respect. In order to do that it does take a wholesale attitude adjustment, phenomenal work ethic, become a better team mate and patientce. Typically these areas are the ones that players tend to mess up in which causes the coaches to not respect them. But changes in these areas have to take place and it may mean waiting until the next season.

Best example - last football season I was the defensive coordinator and we had this guy on our team who could have been pretty good but his attitude was terrible. He wanted to play running back but we had several players who were better than him but he was needed on defense. So we get through about half the season and he and I have butted heads a couple of times. I kicked him out of practice, not started him, made him run extra - you name it but his attitude still stunk. Every time there was a flareup he would come apologize the next day and I would accept it but one time near the end I told him apologies can only go so far. People get tired of hearing I'm sorry without seeing a change in behavior. Nice little speech but it didn't work. Depending on who you ask he either quit or he was kicked off by us. I didn't care because I was glad to be rid of him. I truly didn't respect him.

Spring workouts roll around and I'm obviously with baseball. This kid starts coming to football workouts. I told the head coach there's no way we should keep him - tell him to stay home. As the spring progresses I keep check on him and the head coach says he's been the model player. Mouth shut and works hard and helps others. I'm still not convinced though.

Flash forward to this past August when we start practice and he's out there. This year I was the offensive coordinator and all our backs had graduated so there was a spot for him on the offense. First day or two of practice I pull him over and tell him I heard he had changed his attitude and seemed to be doing better. Then I tried to crush him to see how he would respond. I said he hadn't made one bit of progress with me. If he wanted to step foot on the field then he was at square zero with me and he had to impress me if he wanted to play. I wanted to see how he would react and he looked at me and said "you got it".

By the end of our season he was our leading rusher, valuable member of both offense and defense and when it was time to hand out awards at our banquet I gave him the Offensive Playmaker Award. In my speech to the crowd I even mentioned how much he grew up and changed as a person. This was more important than anything he did on the field.

I didn't respect this kid, didn't like him and didn't want him around. He changed and met every single one of my standards I had in order to step foot on the field. Now I do respect him, I do like him and glad he played.

So yes I do believe you can get respect back but it's really a two way street. The player has to be willing to change and the coach has to be open minded to see the person has changed.

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So yes I do believe you can get respect back but it's really a two way street. The player has to be willing to change and the coach has to be open minded to see the person has changed.

coach - I don't know if you intended it that way, but that was an emotional post!

If no one else posts in this thread, then it was worthwhile to start it.

Coach, you said it all.

Sure would like to know the thought process the kid went through. Good that he changed, and good that you let him prove it. As you mentioned, not all coaches would have given him that chance.

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I agree. Great post. It would be very interesting to know what brought about this remarkable change.



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Great Post Coach, it shows that actions speak louder than words.

great post coach!!!! I will be dealing with a situation similar to yours.... i hope it goes as well as yours did.

It's much easier for a player to regain respect in football because the season is long and filled with lots of long, competitive practices, which gives the player countless opportunities to prove himself (after he's gotten his head together).

"I kicked him out of practice, not started him, made him run extra - you name it but his attitude still stunk."

On a baseball team, he's outta here--no second chances this season, and once he's gone, how is he going to prove himself for next season?-- even if he's the best player on the planet, he's gone.

To answer the original question: Yes you can regain respect... but you will get the chance based on the amount of talent you bring to the table.

If the player has very little talent; he'll get alomost no chance.
If he has a ton a talent he'll get more chances... I think it's just a 'real world' thing that happens in every walk of life.

Thanks everyone and I don't know what happened. Honestly I don't really care because I'm glad it did. I wish I could take the high road here but a lot goes to the head coach for letting him come back out.

Skipper I wish you luck with your situation and hope that it works out. I'm not afraid of confrontation but I don't like and would rather it doesn't happen. Sometimes it just needs to happen though.

freddy I'm not sure if I can completely agree with you. I see where you're coming from but when I was a head coach I gave several kids second chances but unfortunately they never worked out. Some were the next season and some were the same season. The kids either got tossed by me or they ended up quitting. I think it can happen in a baseball season but it is difficult.

Skipper sadly you are correct in that the stud will get more chances than the average player. It happens in everything and every walk of life.

Great post coach from your posts I can tell your a heck of a coach and are in it for all the right reasons. Your players are fortunate to have a coach like you.